War of the Cards
by TheHextMan
Summary: Wonderland had been torn up by war since Alice left, and everyone believes she is the solution to their problem
1. Froste's Centre for the Mental Defective

"Come on, Ms. Kingsleigh, you have to talk about your experiences; it's the best way to figure out what's wrong with you." Alice Kingsleigh was laying on the couch. Her psychiatrist, Dr. Martel, was talking to her, trying to get her to share her dreams with the world. Alice had been in the Froste's Centre for the Mental Defective for 5 years, ever since her interrupted wedding day. For 5 years people have tried to get into her mind, but to no success.  
"You're not going to talk to me, are you?" Alice turned away from her doctor. "That's a pity. Back to your room it is."  
Alice walked through the long grey hallway that led to her room. This was her world. Her room, the hallway and Martel's office. That's everything she saw lately. Alice caught some glimpses of the nametags on the doors leading to hers. Dorothy Gale, Emma Swan, Maxine Caulfield. The hallway seemed to go on forever. Just the grey wall, the grey doors, this grey reality. It was enough to drive anyone insane – if they weren't already. After what seemed like eternity, they reached her room. Alice went in and sat on her bed.  
Her room wasn't much. There was a bed, a desk with paper and pencils, and a window with iron bars. There were prisons with better rooms than hers. As she laid down, she overheard to men talking in the hallway.  
"Still no progression?" the voice was soft and soothing, almost inhuman.  
"I'm afraid so," Alice recognized this voice, it was Dr. Martel's  
"Walk me through her file, please."  
"She claims to have travelled to another world, through a rabbit hole. It's a world filled with ridiculous creatures. There's a talking rabbit, a hookah-smoking worm, and a grinning cat"  
"I see. I'll see what I can do. I will see her tomorrow at noon. Good day to you. Adieu."  
"Good day, Mr. Carroll"  
Alice heard the soothing man, Mr. Carroll, walk away while Martel entered the cell of the patient opposite of her. He heard him started about something like an Enchanted Forest when her attention was pulled away. In her window, there was a cat. It was a regular cat, a little too fat maybe. There was one thing off; it seemed to be grinning. It looked Alice right in the eyes and with what Alice caught as a wink, it left. Scared and surprised she sat down on her bed. She had seen this cat before. She had seen him in her dreams. With those thoughts in her head, she was blasted against the door as the wall behind her was blown to pieces…


	2. Hext & Co

"She's awake!" Alice woke up with a terrible headache. When she opened her eyes, she found herself in some sort of old manor. Everything looked really expensive, but also like no one had been taken care of it for years. She was in the living room. There was a painting of a serious-looking man next to an unusually large mirror. In the lounge chair opposite of her, there was a man. He was dressed like someone from the higher class, with a heavy long coat and a top hat. His skin was peculiarly pale.  
"Wonderful," the man stood up from his chair, "Good morning, Alice. I believe we have some explaining to do. My name is," he paused, like he forgot his own name, "Addison Hext. This here is Lincoln Clocke." He pointed at a small man in the corner. He was almost bald, with some plucks of white hair still on his head. He had a very nervous expression on his face, and he reminded Alice somewhat of a rabbit. He was dressed equally rich as Addison Hext. "Oh, and this is our cat, Chester" Alice was shocked when she looked at the cat. It was the same cat she saw before her cell blew up. He still seemed to be grinning.  
"We are the ones responsible for your escape. Currently we are borrowing this nice estate and between us, I do not know the actual owner," he started to giggle a bit, "apparently the law can't appreciated a little commotion now and then, so we are, well, wanted men now. Now how do we get this thing to work?" He said that last thing more to himself than to Alice. He turned to the mirror and started to observe it very closely. Alice got up and started exploring their current hideout.  
It seemed like the owners had left in a hurry. The teacups were still on the table, filled with cold tea. The dust told that the owners had left long ago. Most things were covered up in such a layer of dust that it left steady footprints. In fact, there were footprints in the dust. Alice was convinced that they must be Addison Hext's, but still she followed them. They led her through the entire house, until a heavy wooden door blocked the route. The door was locked. Actually, there wasn't a lock at all. It was a big wooden rectangle in the wall. There was no mistake. The footprints definitely came in and out of this room.  
"Zounderkite!" Alice heard Addison Hext scream from the living room accompanied by the sound of breaking glass . When she rushed into the room, she saw him standing with the mirror she noticed before. The difference is that the glass was now shattered and spread all over the room.  
"Message the queen that our arrival is a little delayed," Hext told the small man, Clocke. At the moment he hit the painting in his frustration, all hell broke loose in the hall. Alice heard a group of men talking and walking in.  
"This is the police, everybody get on the floor with your hands on your head." Men with revolvers stormed into the room and aimed their weapons at Alice and Hext. Their leader shouted to someone outside of their room. "Tell him we found the terrorists!" From the corner of her eye, Alice saw Chester jump of the stairs and exit the house…


	3. Interrogation

"Would you please state your name and means of existence for the records." Addison Hext was sitting in the interrogation room. Across him officer Marlow, the man who took the lead in their arrest.  
"' What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would still smell as sweet,'" Hext answered, sitting stiffly upright in his chair.  
"Do you confirm that you are Addison Hext and you make a living with the crafting of headwear?"  
"'We know what we are, but not what we may be.""  
"Are you known with the person that goes by the name of Alice Kingsleigh?"  
"'Dispute not with her: she is lunatic.'"  
Marlow walked out of the room, hitting his hand against the door on his way out. Outside of the chamber, another officer was watching the conversation going down.  
"The man is mad; he refuses to speak normally."  
"It appears he chooses to speak in quotes from Shakespearian works," the other officer answered with a laugh. He watched the interrogated sitting in his room. He didn't seem to care about anything that was happening. He didn't even seem to be completely in the room. His eyes were staring into the distance, and his mouth seemed to be moving. It looked like he was mouthing words.  
"Let me try again," said Marlow as he re-entered the interrogation room.  
"Let's be serious, Hext." Marlow said down with Hext, another attempt at interrogating him.  
"Alright, let's." Marlow looked up with surprise. Hext's voice had gone from high and light to a low Scottish whisper. His eyes had lost their glaze and were two black dots.  
"I've got a question for you, officer. Why is a raven like a writing desk?"  
"I'm afraid I can't say."  
"Neither can I, I believe it had something to do with the letter 'M'. I'll tell the queen about you. Oh yes, she'll love you. Be careful, though. She is known for getting into people's heads." Hext eyes rolled back in his head and returned to their normal glaze. He fell back into his chair, his arms dangling side his body. At first he just seemed to be mentally absent, now he didn't even seem to be conscious. At the side of mouth, little clouds of saliva appearing.  
"Someone get a doctor in here!"

"Good afternoon, Mr. Clocke," Officer Payne was sitting in a room with Lincoln Clocke. They were just starting their interrogation, having no idea of the events in the other room. Clocke was shivering in his chair. He was constantly looking around him, as if he expected someone to jump from the wall to get him. He was constantly checking his broken pocket watch.  
"I have got some questions regarding the incident at the hospital yesterday."  
"Yes, yes, terrible thing, true pity."  
"Do you have any clue as to who the possible perpetrators might be."  
"No clue, no idea, never heard of them."  
"Are you completely sure about that answer" Clocke started getting shaking even more than before and it looked like he was about to faint when the door of their room opened. A man in uniform with a moustache peeked his head through the door.  
"Payne, need you. The guy in 65 is going has completely lost his marbles." Officer Payne stood up and with a final 'Stay' he left the room, leaving Clocke all alone.

Alice was sitting in her cell, alone. The police considered her mad; they didn't think her a suspect. They had written her off as confused and maybe even insane. So she was left alone, while they interrogated her rescuers. She jumped up with surprise as Chester the Cat was suddenly sitting next to her. It turned his head to her and to Alice's surprise he began speaking.  
"Good morning, Alice." The cat had a deep voice that sounded remarkably human for a cat. Alice was out of breath, sitting in the corner.  
"I'm going mad"  
"You were mad long before today. It's not a bad thing to be a little odd. I'm mad, Hatter's mad, we're all mad. It was Hatter's – Hext," he added as he saw Alice's confusion, "It was his idea to keep you in the dark. He thought you might have forgotten, you might not believe anymore. I fear he is right in that."  
Alice slowly got up and caught her breath, "Might not believe in what?"  
"Wonderland"  
Alice laughed at the Cat, "Wonderland? You must be insane. There is no such thing as a 'Wonderland'"  
"Doesn't matter. Now listen to me: when the door opens, you're going to make your way, as fast as you can, to the Botanical Gardens where you will meet a man named Terrence H. Chamberlain. Am I Clear?" Alice nodded, confused by the Cat's orders. There was a click in the door and it opened. Alice walked out and checked the hallway for policemen. When she looked back to her cell before leaving, she saw the Cat slowly dissolving into thin air until he was just a pair of eyes with a mouth  
"Good luck, Alice."


	4. Kiss from a Rose

"Who did you say you were again?"  
It had been two weeks since the arrest. Alice followed the Cat's guidance and now found herself in the Botanical Gardens. Opposite of her was a small, thin man. His hair was combed sharp to the right and he sported a neatly cut moustache. He wore a dark blue suit and tie to state that he was a man of importance, further illustrated by his stance: firm and upright.  
"I did not say, sir," Alice answered man's question. They were walking through the rose gardens. They had a great collection of red and white roses. Some roses appeared to be both.  
"So, who are you?"  
"My name is Alice Kingsleigh, sir."  
The man turned around when he heard her name, a look of surprise and suspicion on his face.  
"Alice Kingsleigh, you say?"  
"Yes, sir. My name is Alice Mary Kingsleigh"  
"Are you completely sure about that?"  
"Yes, sir. I am completely sure of who I am." Alice struggled to keep polite, as the man started to irritate her.  
After a few more minutes of walking in silence, they arrived at a chamber with one rose in the middle. It was dark as the night. It was on an island in the center of room, surrounded by water filled with lilies. The rest of the room was decorated with the most beautiful flowers Alice had ever seen. The man closed the door behind her and walked up to her.  
"I suppose the Cat told you told to come see me. I am Terrence Howard Chamberlain. We will soon see if you are indeed the Alice that you say you are."  
Alice was standing in front of the bridge that led towards the island. Chamberlain clearly expected her to walk up to the rose, and so she did. When she inspected the rose more clearly, she saw that it was even darker than thought before. It looked like the night, stars and all. The more she looked at the rose, the harder it was to focus. When she looked back up, the entire room had changed. The plants were even bigger and more luxurious than before, the water was scarlet red and the bridge, as well as Chamberlain, had completely disappeared.  
The entire room seemed to be fading away around her. Alice got a light feeling in her head and only moments later she was falling. The island had dissolved under her feet and revealed a hole. The hole seemed endless. Alice was falling and falling. Alice didn't knew if she was getting used to the falling or if her speed had changed, but everything seemed to be moving slow-motion. She noticed that the entire pit was decorated with paintings. Alice was surprised to see her father, mother and herself painted on the walls. They were paintings of her life. Paintings of the moments that mattered. She saw her father leaving on his ship; her mother and herself standing by his grave; her wedding day and lastly, the gates to Froste's.  
After what seemed like eternity, she reached the floor. She found herself in a round chamber. There were doors in all shapes and sizes. In the middle of the room was table with a bottle and a card. Alice picked up the card. _To: Alice Kingsleigh_ , the front read. When Alice opened it she saw the text inside.

 _Welcome to Wonderland, Alice._


	5. Jack of Hearts

"Wake up, you nutter."  
Hext was lying inside what appeared to be some kind of old shack. Next to him was a man, sitting back in his wooden chair. The man was dressed in all black, his raven hair slicked back. On his vest was a dark red heart, decorated with a golden crown.  
Hext was hurting all over his body, but his headache was without doubt the worse. He felt like his bran was being ripped apart. Worst of all, he didn't remember how he got here or anything else that happened since his interrogation.  
"Morning, Jack," he said, sitting up in his creaky bed.  
"Addison," Jack returned, nodding his head.  
"What happened?" Hext said with difficulty. With every word he said, he felt like his head was going to explode into a hundred tiny little pieces.  
"Right. This is going to sound a bit crazy, but I suppose we're used to that. See, I was walking around the streets, minding me own business, when I came 'cross the police station. So I was walking there, when a bunch of coppers threw someone out the door. I walked up to him and I saw that he was in fact you. So I told the cops I would take you with me and make sure you don't die – they happily agreed – and I took you with me. Now you've been unconscious for a bit like two weeks and I have made sure you didn't die on me," Jack said in his heavy accent. Hext stood up, trying to process the news. He had been off the world for two weeks. What had happened to Alice? Jack seemed to be reading his thought.  
"Too bad I couldn't find the girl," he said, more to himself than to Hext, but loud enough so he could clearly hear.  
"Did the Queen send you?" Hext asked.  
"What can I say, my heart is always with her," Jack answered with regret. The Queen of Hearts had been known to literally take the heart out of her lackeys and other employed beings to make sure of their loyalty. Jack had been her personal assistance in all kinds of arrangements. Now it seemed that the Queen had send him to find Alice.  
Since Alice left Wonderland five years ago, a war had torn Wonderland apart. 'The War of Cards,' they called it. In the north, the Red Queen of Hearts had returned to her palace after her exile and taken control. In the south the White Queen of Spades had her palace. In the west there was the cruel Green King of Clovers and in the east his brother the Blue King of Diamonds. One day, a sword appeared in Midpoint, the centre of all their kingdoms. It was the sword that Alice had used to slay the Jabberwocky in the Battle of the Chessboard. Because of this, the kingdoms got the idea that maybe Alice would be the way to win this war, so since that day they had been on a wild scavenger's hunt for the girl. Hext – of the White Queen – had been lucky enough to have found her first.  
Jack of Hearts was part of the Red Queen's search party. Now a series of unfortunate events had let to him finding Hext instead of Alice.  
"So, here's the deal. I am going to leave here in the middle of nowhere, while I get back out there and find Alice, since you were kind enough to lose her. Thanks for that." He patted Hext on the cheek and left he shack. Hext looked around the hut. It was only the bed, a chair and a small table. On the table was a cup of tea and his hat.  
The hat had been a dear possession of Hext. He had made it a long time ago, back when Alice first arrived in Wonderland, when she was 7 years old. He regarded it as his finest work yet. Possibly his finest work ever, since making hats was something he hadn't done in quite some time. He shook these thoughts out of his head. He didn't have time for nostalgia. He had to find Alice. He had to find her before Jack – or any Searchers, for that matter – found her.  
Hext opened the door and walked outside. The hut he was in was, like Jack said, in the middle of nowhere. He found himself to be on a long green hill. There was no house for as far as he could see. This fact frustrated him. Jack must had gone somewhere, he couldn't just have disappeared. Then it hit him. Jack could have disappeared.  
All Searcher's had been equipped with a way to get back to Wonderland in case of Alice's return. Problem was, Hext's Way of Return had been destroyed. That's why he had been trying to get the Looking Glass back up. If Jack had returned to Wonderland, that would mean Alice would have too. He had to get back, as quick as possible.


End file.
